/ CONVENTION ON
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY / Distr.
GENERAL
UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/INF/24
29 October 2003
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
SUBSIDIARY BODY ON SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE
Ninth meeting
Montreal, 10-14 November 2003
/…
UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/INF/24
Page 35
Item 7 of the provisional agenda[*]
REPORT OF THE EXPERT MEETING ON THE GLOBAL STRATEGY FOR PLANT CONSERVATION
I. introduction
1. At its sixth meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted decision VI/9 on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, which includes outcome-oriented global targets for 2010.
2. The Conference of the Parties requested the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), inter alia, to develop ways and means, within the Convention’s thematic and cross-cutting programmes of work, for promoting the implementation of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, and for monitoring and assessing progress; and to report to the Conference of the Parties at its seventh meeting (decision VI/9, para. 10). Moreover, the further work required to develop and implement the Strategy, as described in the Strategy itself, includes the following:
(a) The development of national targets and their incorporation into national biodiversity strategies and action plans and other relevant plans, programmes and initiatives (para. 16);
(b) For each target, clarification of the scope of activities and development of sub-targets, or milestones, as necessary. Development of baseline data and a series of indicators in order to monitor progress towards achieving the targets (para.17);
(c) Development of regional components of the Strategy, perhaps using a biogeographical approach (para. 18);
(d) Involvement of a range of actors in the design, development and implementation of the strategy, in addition to the Parties to the Convention, including: international initiatives, conservation and research organizations, communities and major groups including indigenous and local communities, governments and the private sector (para. 19); and
(e) Consideration to the establishment of a flexible coordination mechanism, in order to promote implementation of the Strategy and facilitate cooperation with existing initiatives, (para. 20).
3. The Executive Secretary convened in Cartagena, Colombia, on 11-12 October 2002, an informal liaison group meeting in order to provide guidance on the implementation and monitoring of the Strategy. The Group agreed on the need for a programme of stakeholder consultations and suggested a number of lead agencies to facilitate progress for the various targets. The Group also recommended that a second meeting be held in about September 2003 to consider progress reports of the stakeholder consultations and prepare advice for the further implementation of the Strategy, and to report to the Executive Secretary.
4. Accordingly, the Executive Secretary invited a number of organizations to facilitate stakeholder consultations on the various targets, including the development of sub-targets, milestones and indicators for the targets included in the Strategy, and the elaboration of a baseline data for monitoring.
5. In addition, the Executive Secretary invited a group of experts, to participate in an Expert Group Meeting that was held in Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland, from 5 to 7 October 2003. The meeting was organized in collaboration with the Botanic Gardens Conservation International and supported by HSBC Holdings plc, through its “Investing in Nature” partnership.
6. The objectives of the Expert Group meeting were to review progress in the stakeholder consultations and to prepare advice for the development and implementation of the Strategy in line with decision VI/9 and the further work set out in the Strategy itself.
II. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
7. The Meeting was held in the Dingle Skellig Hotel, Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland. The meeting opened at 10 a.m. on Sunday, 5th October 2003.
8. Twenty experts participated in the meeting including representatives from Australia, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Malaysia, Mauritius, Poland, the Russia Federation, Spain and the following organizations: Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the “Gran Canaria Group”, International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Plantlife International, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the World Fund for Nature (WWF). Additionally, the representative of Spain gave a report on behalf of the Chair of the Plant Committee of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).
9. The full list of participants is contained in annex I to the present report.
10. The participants were welcomed by Mr Matthew Jebb, representative of the Government of Ireland.
11. Mr. David Cooper welcomed participants on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. He outlined the mandate of the group and reviewed the goals, objectives and expected outputs of the meeting.
12. Ms. Stella Simiyu (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity/BGCI) described the background to the Strategy and provided an update on the major activities and achievements since the adoption of decision VI/9 on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.
13. Mr Peter Wyse Jackson, Secretary General, BGCI, welcomed participants on behalf of BGCI and thanked HSBC for its support in the organisation of the meeting.
14. The Group elected Mr. Stephen Blackmore (Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh) as its Chair.
15. The provisional agenda prepared by the Executive Secretary was adopted as contained in annex II to the present report. In addition, at the request of some participants, the issue of funding for the Strategy was considered under “other matters”.
16. The Group worked in plenary.
17. Under agenda item 3, the organizations that had been facilitating stakeholder consultations presented overviews, for each of the targets 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13, of the status of the consultation process, and their main findings, which were then reviewed by the Group. Further information is contained in a number of background papers and drafts reports on the stakeholder consultations (see annex III below). A summary of these, as well as the observations of the Expert Group are provided in annex IV. Progress concerning targets 3, 14, 15, and 16, which had been considered in the stakeholder consultations as cross-cutting issues, were reviewed by the Expert Group under agenda item4(a). Also under agenda item 4, experts at the meeting nominated by their national governments presented overviews of their national level experiences in implementing the strategy (see annex V below). BGCI also presented experiences on their national-level projects in Brazil, China, India, and Indonesia that are contributing to the implementation of the strategy in these countries, and PlantLife International reported on a joint initiative with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee of the United Kingdom, to develop a United Kingdom response to the Strategy.
18. The steps necessary for the further development and implementation of the Strategy were considered under agenda items 4 and 5.
19. The conclusions of the Expert Group were discussed and adopted under agenda item 7. The meeting was closed at 1.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 7 October, 2003.
III. CONCLUSIONS of the EXPERT group
A. Review of progress in implementation, and the way forward
20. Several hundred stakeholders have been involved in consultations on the various targets of the Strategy, through a number of meetings, and through correspondence. Substantial progress has been made for many targets in elaborating sub-targets and milestones, clarifying baselines and identifying indicators. Annex IV provides a summary of the consultation process, the key points emerging from the consultation, the proposed sub-targets and milestones, key tools, resources, partners and related initiatives identified, as well as observations of the expert group.
21. A number of tools and other resources for the implementation of the Strategy have been identified in the course of the stakeholder consultations (annex IV). These should be made widely available through the clearing-house mechanism. This would contribute to the achievement of target 3. Further progress towards this target may be achieved by:
(a) Collating relevant tools and resources, including protocols, guidelines, standards etc developed at global, regional and national levels;
(b) Facilitating access to the relevant tools and resources, through the clearing-house mechanism and other means;
(c) Review and evaluation/ categorization by target of tools, and analysis of gaps;
(d) Promoting development of new tools where necessary;
(e) Facilitating field-testing of tools and adaptation to national needs, as necessary;
(f) Development of international standards, where necessary, through appropriate mechanisms;
(g) Organizations that have developed tools should be invited to take into consideration the needs of the Global Strategy when revising them.
22. The importance of target 14 was emphasized, and BGCI was invited to facilitate a stakeholder consultation, involving expertise in communication, education and public awareness. This would be linked to the Convention’s Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) initiative. Targets15 and 16 were well addressed during the stakeholder consultations. Financial resources would be needed to achieve target 15 in particular.
23. Consultations are still under way for a number of targets. A summary of the status of the stakeholder consultations is provided in annex IV. Once completed, the results of the stakeholder consultations will be made widely available, and a detailed plan for the Strategy as a whole will be compiled, indicating the links among the various targets.[1]/
24. It was noted that targets were related in various ways as: attainment of some targets would contribute to the attainment of others; monitoring of some targets was dependent on attainment of others and some targets shared data requirements. The following points were noted:
(a) Full completion of target 2 depended on completion of target 1. It was considered that target 1 should be completed by 2008;
(b) Monitoring of progress of targets 7 and 8 required progress to be achieved in target 2;
(c) Targets 2, 4-8 had shared data requirements: overlay of species-based and area-based data would facilitate monitoring of progress towards this cluster of targets;
(d) While all targets require action by national governments and stakeholders, this is particularly true of targets 4–7, 12, and 13. National enabling activities and capacity building are seen as vital to facilitate early progress on these targets in particular. These targets require national and local level planning and application of the ecosystem approach. Targets 3, 14, 15 and 16 all provide important entry points to the Strategy.
25. The outcome-oriented targets of the Strategy provide a commonly agreed framework for actions by a wide range of actors, and that implementation of Strategy requires a number of activities, each of which will contribute to the attainment of multiple targets. The interdependence of the targets, both for implementation and monitoring, is emphasized, as is the need to view the Strategy as a whole.
B. Monitoring, indicators and baselines
26. Current baseline information and indicators, while not perfect, are not a limit to progress in the implementation or monitoring of most of the targets. However, synthesis of data at the global level, necessary to reach a number of targets, would be facilitated by ensuring compatibility of approaches and data standards, whenever possible. No globally applicable indicators have yet been identified for target13.
27. A coordinated approach to the monitoring of implementation of the targets of the Strategy at global level would allow more efficient use of data, for example by exploiting synergies between species-based and area-based data. UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre may usefully play a role in this regard.
C. National-level implementation
28. The development of national targets and their integration into national plans, programmes and activities could be facilitated by:
(a) Documented case-studies of national implementation;[2]/
(b) A checklist or guide to the establishment of national-level targets;
(c) Integration of the targets of the Strategy into the reporting framework for the third and subsequent national reports;
(d) Workshops on the Strategy for national focal points. These might be organized in conjunction with meetings of the Conference of the Parties, SBSTTA and regional meetings; and
(e) National workshops to promote the full engagement of all relevant stakeholders at national level, and other capacity building activities at national level.
29. In addition, it is recommended that national focal points for the Strategy be developed to promote the participation of national stakeholders in the implementation and monitoring of the Strategy at national level.
30. It was proposed to hold a side-event at SBSTTA-9, in Montreal, November 2003, highlighting national experiences in implementing the Strategy, and to hold a one-day workshop for national focal points, back-to-back with the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties, in Kuala Lumpur, February 2004.
D. Regional components and networks
31. There are various rationales for action at the regional level in support of the Strategy. Regional strategies should be developed where there are clear regional needs and demands. The recommendation of the Cartagena liaison group meeting that an analysis of existing regional initiatives and gaps be carried out was supported.[3]/
32. Examples of regional initiatives include: the SADC Plant Genetic Resources Network; SABONET; and the European Seed Bank Network (ENSCONET). Colombia has already developed a National Plant Conservation Strategy and plans are in place to expand this to include a regional approach by 2004. Other networks exist in Latin America (e.g. El Grupo Etnobotanico Latinoamericano (GELA) and of the Latinamerican Botanical Association and the TRAMIL-Network (Programa de Investigacion Cientifica Aplicada de Plantas Medicinales)). The Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica is another important resource. Planta Europa is contributing to the Global Strategy through the European Plant Conservation Strategy.
33. Regional meetings, held in appropriate languages, could help promote understanding and implementation of the Strategy.
34. An international, including regional, dimension may be more important for some targets than others. For example, national activities on target 1 would not be sufficient for the completion of a global list of names.
E. Implementation through the programmes of work under the Convention
35. The Strategy is to be implemented through the various thematic and cross-cutting programmes of the Convention. This requires integration of the various targets of the Strategy into these programmes of work, as envisaged in decision VI/9. The most relevant programmes of work for each target are identified in table 1.[4]/